


on the subject of childhood friends

by anon_drabble



Category: Mystic Messenger (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Another Story (Mystic Messenger), F/M, Friends to Enemies, Friends to Enemies to Lovers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-27
Updated: 2019-02-27
Packaged: 2019-11-06 08:08:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,995
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17936036
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anon_drabble/pseuds/anon_drabble
Summary: request: "I adore the idea of friends 2 enemies 2 lovers! I thought of Jihyun immediately. What if v and Mc knew each other before Rika and they were friends (possibly unrequited love towards v) but then, once he meets Rika they slowly separate and mc’s brother gets caught into the mint eye cult stuff so she investigates and finds out it’s Rika and think v’s also behind it. That way she purposely catches ray’s attention to recruit her into another route where v route occurs... just a thought! "here we go, hahaha. this ended up being much longer than i anticipated (i thought maybe 3000-4000 words, it’s double that….) but i’m overall mostly pleased with it. so i very much hope you enjoy! i meant to post it as multiple chapters but i feel it doesn't flow well broken up like that.and i hope this might be enjoyed by other v fans as well. he’s not the easiest character to write but i do love the story behind his route so i love writing him.





	on the subject of childhood friends

“Hey, remember when we were little and we all played together?”

“Yeah. I remember,” I said with a bitter smile.

“Why… Um… Why did we stop? Why did he stop being our friend?”

I smoothed my brother’s hair, shifting it from his eyes. The hospital monitor beeped the steady tone in the background, the afternoon sun setting behind the same ugly drapes found in every room. I hated when he asked about Jihyun. “Kon, I told you. We just grew apart, okay? Get some sleep. Don’t worry about Jihyun. Just focus on getting better, okay?”

Kon nodded. “Sure thing. I’ll be fine in no time,” he promised.

But we both knew the truth. Kon’s very limited days would be spent in that hospital bed.

I said goodbye to my brother for the last time less than a month later.

“His death was so sudden!” and “I don’t understand how someone as healthy as he was died so quickly,” were the phrases I heard all throughout the funeral. And I understood their confusion. If I hadn’t been there the whole time, I probably wouldn’t understand his death either. Kon had always been healthy. Our family didn’t have health problems. And he was young, still in school, though close to moving on to his career. He really did have his life ahead of him. He even had our family’s money to support him in whatever he did. He could have done anything. He had a good heart, too.

But a good heart would mean the end for him.

We grew up without many friends. I played with Kon and didn’t really have friends of my own, until I went to school. That was where I met Jihyun. It’s not like I really bonded with him quickly but one day, we happened to be walking to the convenience store. I walked with Kon, and Kon had been talking about an art class he was taking. He asked me if some colors went together but I’m not that artistically-minded.

Jihyun overheard and offered his opinion. I had turned my head to face him.

“Yeah? Kon? Will that work for your project?”

Kon had given it a split second of thought. “Yes! I think so! Awesome! I’m totally going to win the contest! Thanks!”

“Ah, sorry. Jihyun Kim, this is my little brother, Kon. Kon, this guy is in my class. You know the big, _big_ mansions down that private drive past us? One of them belongs to the Han family and the other is the Kims.”

Kon had given Jihyun an inquisitive head quirk and a grin that I knew he only showed when he’d done something. “Yeeeeeaaaaaaah, I know those houses. I got Jang flowers there on a dare once.”

Jihyun was startled but he laughed. “I remember that day. Our gardener nearly lost his job.” But he then he smiled, a very slow smile. Like the corners of his mouth just inched up at a snail’s pace. Most people I knew, they smiled quickly, like turning a switch. On and off. Jihyun, it was like watching a flower bloom in slow motion. An action so often taken for granted but you could easily see each movement on his face.“Did Jang like the flowers?”

Kon flashed a toothy grin. “Yep! Got my first kiss because of those!”

I nearly shrieked. “What?! Kon! You didn’t tell me that!”

Kon cackled and raced on ahead, deciding then and there that Jihyun was a friend and it became a regular activity to go to the store together once a week. Just the three of us. We did it for years. Jihyun was my age and we went through school together. He mostly stayed with another boy named Jumin. Jumin seemed a bit colder. His family was rich (like Jihyun’s, and mine) and Jumin already acted like a CEO even at school. Jihyun was the friendly type. Rich but with a kind smile. He really looked at you when you talked to him and he listened and could remember almost anything you told him. Girls developed crushes on him constantly.

The school dances and social events were the times girls would race for Jihyun’s attention. Asking for dates or even to just go as friends. The worst ones, though, tried to go through Jumin to get to Jihyun.

“Please, Jumin? Can’t you just ask him for me? I can really make it worth your while!” It was after school one day. I’d forgotten my books in the classroom and had returned after dismissal. Jumin stood near the window, his back straight and posture impeccable. As always. In front of him, a girl attempted to charm her way past Jumin to get some attention from Jihyun.

Jumin crossed his arms at the request. “I sincerely doubt you have anything to offer me that I cannot obtain for myself. Just as I suspect you have little to offer Jihyun that he does not already have.”

“Are you really that dense? Or do I have to show you first?” the girl cooed and I nearly gagged.

I made plenty of noise to interrupt as she started to lean towards Jumin, puckering her lips. “Oh. Silly me. I thought I heard Jihyun’s name but you just want anyone, huh?” I sneered. Jumin looked at me with one of his unreadable expressions.

The girl sputtered and cursed at me, swearing vengeance or something. But she left, at least.

“That girl will ostracize you, you know,” Jumin said.

“It’s okay. Jihyun wouldn’t have liked her. Any girl who stoops low enough to try to weasel past you isn’t worth knowing. She can hate me all she wants. Maybe she’ll leave you and Jihyun alone now, though.”

“I expect she will. I could have handled the situation.” He almost seemed annoyed with me.

“Oh, I know. But it’s annoying to have girls hanging on him all the time, right? If he wants a date, he can ask a girl out. But he doesn’t so I just assume that means he’s not interested yet. Maybe you are and maybe with less girls crowding Jihyun, you can date if you want. Or if not, just gives you and Jihyun more time. Win-win, isn’t it?”

“Strange,” he said, then he left. I never really knew what he meant and I didn’t interact much with Jumin after that. It didn’t completely stop the girls from flirting but it did give him some space.

One day after school, he stopped me.

“I heard you stepped in to stop a scene for my sake. I wanted to thank you.” He spoke softly, sincerely.

I shrugged. “It’s okay. She was being obnoxious, trying to claw all over Jumin. He’s not really my friend but I knew you wouldn’t want your friend put in that situation because of you, right?”

He blinked in surprise. “You know me that well?” The smile slowly formed on his face.

I had blushed, thinking he was making fun of me. “I guess so. I didn’t really think about it.” I shrugged.

“Well, I appreciate it. You’re completely right. I would hate for anyone to be put in a difficult situation because of me.”

“I understand that. But also remember, friends are there to get you out of those situations, too. To help you. That’s what friends are for, right?” He never answered me. Maybe he had a different definition for friendship.

But he didn’t have a lot of friends besides Jumin. And Kon and I, I guess. I wouldn’t really say we were close but we talked a lot. We were honest with each other. Maybe we were closer than I thought. I know I looked forward to our weekly walks. I liked talking to him. I loved making him laugh. He and Kon did crafts together sometimes, Kon loved making me gifts instead of buying them and I know Jihyun had a hand in making more than a few of my favorites.

I lied. Jihyun was a good friend. Someone I really enjoyed being around. We weren’t casual friends. We told each other secrets. Asked each other for advice. Maybe it wasn’t a typical friendship. It didn’t feel like the relationship he had with Jumin. But, yes, we were good friends. He confided in me and I told him about my first crush on a boy in our class. Jihyun helped me work up the courage to talk to him and it was because of Jihyun I had my first boyfriend and my first kiss. He helped Kon so much, acting like a big brother to him. Maybe that’s what Jihyun was to us. Family.

We all grew up together. When Jihyun and I graduated, we lost the constant contact. We still spoke but much less often. I never told Jihyun about my crush on him. It was a silly schoolgirl thing anyways. It wasn’t serious. But when Jihyun announced his engagement, I felt a little hurt. He had a beautiful fiancee. The picture he sent of them showed her smiling, practically radiant. Joyful. Free. She suited Jihyun and I could tell that just from a photo. I declined the invitation to their engagement party. Because of jealousy? Not really. I didn’t see Jihyun in that light anymore. He was a good guy, nice and honest, but he and I had different views and ideals. I wanted a career first, to be a successful attorney. I wanted to travel. Focus on myself. I wanted someone driven, but free. Jihyun was a little wishy-washy for me now. Too mild. We wouldn’t have been a good couple.

Kon went to the engagement party. He met Jihyun’s fiance there, a woman named Rika. I don’t know what really happened but Kon started talking about Rika and about her ideals. She wanted to help people, to save as many as she could. I didn’t know the specifics but it sounded like a lot of the hobby charity groups our social circle was fond of. Kon got really passionate about it and he got Rika’s contact information from Jihyun. I stupidly let my career ambitions blind me and I stopped noticing things about Kon. I didn’t see the changes in his behavior. But his grades started slipping and our parents didn’t like that. They asked me to check on him. Everything looked normal enough but our parents told him to stay with me, thinking I’d be the proper influence he needed. It took me a while but I started to notice him neglecting his schoolwork in favor of Rika’s charity. I tried to ask Kon to slow it down but he argued that I was just against the group in general and was trying to shut them down. It felt strange to me so I called Jihyun and tried to talk to him about Rika. Voice my concerns. Jihyun blew me off. Or it felt that way. As soon as I mentioned how my brother behaved differently after meeting with Rika, Jihyun stopped talking. He remained silent and answered only with very brief noncommittal sounds. It immediately made me worried because it was unusual for the Jihyun I knew to behave that way. I demanded answers but Jihyun had none.

The following weeks were worse. Kon’s attitude changed towards me. He started feeling sick. He was pale almost all of the time and didn’t have much of an appetite. But he still went to meet with Rika. Almost religiously. I called Jihyun over and over again. He never answered so I left messages. I had to know what was happening. Jihyun never returned my calls and eventually I found out even Kon hadn’t spoken to Jihyun since the engagement party.

Kon continued to get sicker and I finally convinced him to go to the doctor. The doctor couldn’t tell exactly what happened but Kon ingested something repeatedly that was making him sick and worse, making his organs shut down. A poison? An allergy? The doctor couldn’t say. They pumped Kon’s stomach and tried to flush out all the toxins.

In the end, I said goodbye to Kon. I may have my own dreams and goals but I loved my brother. When he died, I did everything to try to find out why. Eventually, the trail led to Rika. But she was dead now. Police reports said she commited suicide according to her fiance. Jihyun. I used all of my connections and dug more. Found out Jihyun and Rika were regular members of the same church. The church-goers remembered red-haired boys with them at times but the boys suddenly disappeared and no one knew why.

I eventually ran myself into a dead end. All I knew was that something happened with Rika and that Jihyun likely knew, if he wasn’t also involved. But I couldn’t get past that point. I couldn’t find anything else out. I was stuck. Until one day. By chance, I saw a head of mint-colored hair. I approached the figure. Jihyun.

“Jihyun! It’s you. I need to talk to you.” It was only after I called his name that I saw the cane and the glasses. “Are your eyes okay?” I asked.

“They’re fine.” A lie. He was already lying to me? “What can I help you with?”

“I need to talk to you about Rika. And Kon. He died, you know.” Jihyun stiffened and turned his head, as if trying to see if anyone was in earshot. But he couldn’t see. I knew that now.

“I heard. My condolences.”

“Condolences?!” I nearly exploded. Again, his head shot to the sides, a reflex that proved fruitless for him. We were being watched but I doubted he could see them. “That’s it? That’s all you’re going to say to me? He thought of you like a brother! You didn’t come to his funeral. Didn’t call my family, nor me. And all you can say is condolences? Boy, Jihyun, you know, I thought we were friends. But I guess I was wrong.” I glared at him uselessly. He couldn’t see my expression. But he heard my anger.

“Please. Can you keep your voice down? I apologize. I lost someone dear to me as well and I haven’t been myself since then.” His voice was low. Almost secretive.

“Rika?” I asked. He visibly jumped but then hunched his shoulders like we were discussing secrets.

“Not so loud, please.”

I glanced over at the person watching us. I sighed nearly silently and let out an annoyed scoff. “Fine. We’ll go somewhere private. Can you see well enough to walk, to follow me?”

He looked surprised that I had already realized his sight was bad. Then he just looked ashamed. “Yes. I can see well enough for now.”

I led him away, out of the earshot of anyone else. I hoped the privacy might lead Jihyun to open up. I stood and waited for him to explain himself. But he never spoke.

“Really? You have nothing to say to me? Fine. Let me tell you what I think. Kon went to your party and met your Rika. Suddenly he was helping her all the time. I don’t know what he did. I don’t even know if Rika truly did it all for charity. It’s a little late to worry about that part anyway.” I stopped and regarded Jihyun. His carefully neutral expression. The Jihyun I’d known wasn’t like that. How had he changed so much? “And suddenly, Kon is neglecting schoolwork. I try to help him. But he’s changing. He’s different, suddenly. After all this work with Rika. And then he gets sick.” At those words, Jihyun finally let a little of his emotions slip. He tensed, like he knew something about that. “The doctor said he probably kept eating or drinking something and it caused him to get sick.” I eyed Jihyun. “It killed him, Jihyun. But you knew that. Because I called you. All the time. And you avoided me. Why? Guilt?”

Finally, Jihyun spoke. “No! I didn’t know he got so sick! I knew he was sick but…” He seemed to realize he was speaking when he didn’t mean to. “I am sorry about Kon,” he said softly.

“Really. Sorry? That’s it? Jihyun, I’m not an idiot. You know something about this. And I know that Rika was a large part of it, too. There are buried secrets about her. But she died, didn’t she? But I’ll still find out. I’d be willing to bet it’s not a coincidence that Kon got sick after getting involved with Rika. But I don’t know and I don’t have evidence. So I’m asking you. What do you know that I don’t?”

Jihyun frowned. “I don’t know anything. I don’t know why Kon got sick.”

“Liar!” I screamed, losing my last shred of control. “You were our FRIEND, Jihyun! What happened to that? Why would you abandon us like that?”

“I didn’t… I didn’t abandon anyone…” he tried to protest weakly.

“What kind of friend are you? What happened to the Jihyun I went to school with? Who never wanted to burden his friends with something he was involved in? I always thought that was just selfish of you but you know what, that Jihyun wouldn’t have let this happen.”

“I told you, I don’t know anything about your brother,” he tried to object. But I saw the lies.

“I don’t know when or why you changed, Jihyun. But the new you? Is disgusting. I don’t like who you are. The person I was friends with, he would have _cared_ my brother died. Not keep these secrets. I hope I never encounter you again. Whoever you are. Because you’re not my friend.” I turned and left him there. _Good riddance_ , I told myself. But I tried to convince myself it was for the better through tears.

After that, I lost some of the will to seek out answers. I still had the burning questions inside me. I knew something lurked behind Rika’s charity group but I couldn’t prove it. And seeing Jihyun as he was… Maybe I had hoped he’d still be my friend. But he was hollow now. Kon was gone and now Jihyun, too, had disappeared. Practically before my eyes.

I lost a lot of my ambition, actually. I took a job and sort of flatlined for a while. Just drifted through, day by day by day. I didn’t see the point in trying hard. I gave up, plain and simple.

Until the day an email came. No sender listed. Anonymous in nearly every way. The email didn’t say anything, aside from an image inviting me to join something called the Mint Eye. The message was brief, simply suggesting I would find happiness in Mint Eye. I deleted it. Spam, obviously. But a week later, I got another email. And then another. Each time, they were sent without a return address. I gave it to a computer friend of mine, to see if they were viruses or just scams. But even my friend couldn’t decipher anything. He said there was nothing in the code that suggested it contained a virus or tracking software. But that didn’t mean the email wasn’t malicious.

I continued to ignore the emails. Deleting them one after the other. Every time. But I grew more curious. The emails never said much but their short messages were compelling. It almost sounded like Mint Eye really could help me.

Well. No harm in trying, right?

Just to experiment, one day, I tried to reply to the email. Said I wanted to know more. I clicked to send the email but it just made my screen flash and when it reloaded, I had been signed out of my email account. The next day, another email arrived, inviting me to join again, but also addressing my inquiry for more information. It looked like they wouldn’t really communicate much with me over email and wanted me to come in person. Of course I was suspicious. Nothing about this seemed safe. But I felt compelled all the same to go.

The meeting I’d been invited to was in a week. The day came and I went to the building specified, a large mansion-like place in the mountains. There were no other buildings around, no sign of civilization aside from the headquarters of Mint Eye. It screamed danger. _I’m just going inside to check it out. I can leave if it gets too dangerous_ , I told myself.

At the door, I was greeted by a person wearing a hood. They identified themselves with a number and led me inside. I didn’t see anyone else as they led me down multiple hallways. Finally, they stopped me outside a door, requested I wait there until they called me in. They left me alone. I still didn’t see anyone. Very rarely, I’d see another person in a hood walk by the hallway. But never anyone like me, either. I felt very alone and scared. Time to leave, then. I heard footsteps approaching. Probably just someone walking by again, then I could leave. I waited, as innocently as possible. But this time, the hooded figure looked down the hallway. The others just walked by; they hadn’t cared that anyone was there. But this one looked at me. Saw me. Specifically. I could tell they looked directly at me. They stopped in their tracks and changed direction, hurrying down the hall toward me. Panicking, I ran, going as quickly and quietly as I could. I heard the footsteps behind me speed up. I raced along, taking the twisting and turning halls like I knew where I was going. But all the while, the figure behind me kept up. I felt a hand grab my wrist. I jerked it away and fumbled with a doorknob. Desperate to get away. But the hand grabbed me again, harder, and I felt myself pulled backward. The figure shushed me and dragged me along until we came to a large door. They pushed me through and I found myself outside. Flowers bloomed all around, with a path weaving through. A garden?

Once again, I jerked my hand back and they released me. “MC! Please, remain quiet. It’s me.” I recognized the voice but refused to acknowledge it.

I turned to face the person. “Let me leave,” I said, as though I was in charge, forcing myself to sound far more confident than I felt.

“Yes! Yes, I will. You must leave now, MC,” the voice said, sounding relieved.

“Wait. Why do _you_ want me to leave? Who are you?” I asked, though I knew. I heard the voice. I knew.

When Jihyun lowered the hood, I acted surprised. I wasn’t. I had known but I didn’t want to acknowledge it. I couldn’t hide the disappointment in my eyes. But I doubted he could see it. How bad were his eyes now? “It’s not safe here. You need to leave. Why did you come here?”

I looked at Jihyun, the concern on his face, the worry in his voice. For some reason, this one looked more like the friend I used to know. “I came because I got an email. It never stopped coming, no matter how often I deleted it. I grew suspicious and I came to investigate.”

He didn’t look like he enjoyed hearing my reason. He even looked angry. “Have you no sense? Didn’t you realize how dangerous that would be? Why would you take that risk and come alone? You have to take better care of yourself!”

“Oh, I do, do I? Why do you care? You made it clear you no longer care for me or my family so don’t even bother pretending to worry about my safety!” Okay, I got a little angry. But who could blame me?

“Of course I care! I will _always_ care about you!” I had to admit I was a little shocked to hear he cared. The way he said it, I believed him. It sounded so raw from his voice, and passionate. I almost wanted to cry. He deflated a little, lost the spark, and looked more like the lost man I’d seen when I confronted him about my brother. Lifeless. Empty. “Look, it isn’t safe here. I’ll lead you out but then just promise me you won’t come back here.”

I pretended to think. “How about no? You’re doing something here. Something is obviously up in this place. You tell me not to get into trouble alone? How about you? Aren’t you alone here? And you’re telling me it’s dangerous so why is it safer for you? I won’t leave until you tell me what’s going on. You know how stubborn I can be.” I planted my feet, showing him how unwilling I was to budge.

We heard a door close and voices. Jihyun looked panicked and tried to usher me away but I stood firm, not moving until he agreed to tell me what he knew. When he agreed, I let him lead me out of the garden, to a small room (a closet?) nearby. We squeezed in and I looked at him squarely. Time to spill.

“This place is the headquarters of a hacker who works for the leader of a cult. They lure people in with emails like the one you got. They have plans to expand in other ways. They gain their followers with a drink of some kind. They call it an elixir. It… It brainwashes people, makes them more compliant and thus more easily swayed to stay with the cult. I am trying to gather evidence to shut this place down. But there are innocent victims here and I must take care that they are not punished unjustly.” It was a lot to take in but part of it sounded familiar.

“An elixir? Something they’re forced to drink…” I mused to myself. I didn’t like where my brain was going but I thought of Kon. No, there was no way. He hadn’t been in a cult. Kon was a smart boy. He’d never allow himself to be swayed like that. I shook my thoughts out. Focus. “Okay. So what do we need at this point? Papers? Recordings? What can I do?”

“Nothing! You can go home to safety as I asked!” he insisted.

“Or I can help you. And I will, whether you like it or not. Do I need one of those cloaks? Or should I be a poor little new recruit? ‘Ohh, no, please help me, Mint Eye, my life is so terrible!’” I mock-wailed.

Despite himself, I caught the smallest hint of a smile in Jihyun’s eyes. Forced into this small room, he could probably see me clearly for the first time. And I saw my old friend, despite how his personality had changed. He still looked like the handsome boy every girl in school had a crush on. Just grown up now. Still handsome. But with a weak personality, it seemed. Unfortunate. He could have been a catch now. “No. I don’t want to put you in danger,” he said quietly. And again I heard a fondness in his voice. I didn’t like it. “I am almost done. I believe I have enough documentation to bring this to an end.”

“Okay, then let me see it. I want to know. If you want justice, I know exactly what you need for court. So show me what you have. This is good, Jihyun. I really can help you.”

He looked sad again. His moodiness frustrated me. “No, MC. The less you know, the better. I can take care of this.”

“No! I’m in this with you now, like it or not! Now start trusting me so we can finish this! I’m not exactly eager to deal with this shell of a man any longer.”

He flinched, like my words hurt him. They were a little harsh. I felt a little guilty. “I see. You’re still angry with me. I understand. What you learn here will just make you hate me more,” he began, definitely sad now. Mournful. “There is a deeper secret here. The one they call the Savior, who founded this cult. She kidnapped the hacker who sends the emails, and brainwashed him. He doesn’t realize what he’s doing, doesn’t know right from wrong. I must save him.”

I looked Jihyun in the eye. I had a feeling I knew where this was going. “Fine. We help the hacker. But allow me to continue this story and you tell me if I’m right.” He didn’t try to stop me. “I already have a connection to this cult. I got that email for a reason. Because I have been introduced to the elixir.” I spoke slowly, hoping desperately Jihyun would tell me I was wrong. “Because my brother, Kon, was given the elixir. And it killed him.” My voice cracked, my eyes stung from tears. “My brother joined this cult. They probably didn’t intend to kill him. Because no one else has died, right?” I saw the confirmation in Jihyun’s eyes. My tears fell. I wiped my cheeks. “This Savior. You said ‘her’. You don’t mean what I think you do, right? Please at least tell me I’m wrong about that.”

He hung his head. “No. Unfortunately, your hunch is correct. Rika is the Savior. She is still alive. I faked her death because I was afraid of what she’d do. With her listed as dead, she went into seclusion. She still runs this cult but I thought this was safer for the time being.”

I wanted to scream. I clenched my fists. I tried to pummel Jihyun, pounding on his chest, sobbing, barely listening. He let me hit him. Let me cry. My fists slowed and I felt him awkwardly reach around me, and pulled me to his chest, letting me cry as much as I needed to. I hated him. It really was his fault that Kon died. Well, not him specificially but if it hadn’t been for the engagement party, Kon would be alive. He would never have met Rika. I cried my tears, wiped my nose on Jihyun’s shirt. I didn’t care. When I looked up, my voice was raw and angry. “I want her gone,” I growled.

Jihyun’s eyes were full of guilt, of pain. He mourned for me, felt the full weight of Kon’s death on his shoulders. I saw that now. “I wish for her to face judgement. I didn’t see how far her darkness went and how far she would go. I don’t want anyone else hurt. I want her to get help. That is why I’ve infiltrated.”

I took deep breaths, trying to calm down. To look at Jihyun without feeling nauseous. “Okay.” Another breath. Willing myself to snap out of it. “Okay. So let’s see what you have.”

Jihyun nodded. We snuck out of the Mint Eye headquarters and went to Jihyun’s house. There, he showed me boxes full of files. Email print-outs, pictures, flyers, criminal records of some of the members. But several were innocent people, like Kon. Just caught up in something bad. He had things supposedly from Rika, indicating some mental trauma within her. But I knew that information, combined with how Jihyun had faked her death, would do nothing but make him look guilty of everything. It would never pass the courts. The papers contained nothing of the hacker, which I asked about, but Jihyun danced around the subject, unwilling to divuldge anything about the hacker. Every action of his looked suspicious now. I didn’t even know if I could believe him. But I remembered seeing the guilt in his eyes when I cried over Kon. If he was part of this, he was a far better actor than I gave him credit for.

We sorted the information. Once I filted out the things that pointed to Jihyun being guilty, our pile was much smaller.

“I don’t think it’s enough, Jihyun.” I shook my head, frustrated at him and myself. By faking Rika’s death, he’d almost ruined any chance we had of bringing her to justice. Of stopping her cult. “We need something that _shows_ Rika is behind it all. We need film and recordings. We have to go back in and we have to let her convert me. You can film it. It’s the only way.”

He argued. He wouldn’t agree, no matter what I said. He said he didn’t want me to face danger. But now that I knew the truth, I had no reason to protect myself. I just wanted justice for Kon. I told Jihyun I’d just go in by myself if he didn’t want to help. Finally, he stopped fighting me on the subject. We bought him a small camera to hide in his cloak. I filmed a brief intro, using all I knew would make it as believable as possible. To make it permissible in court. I introduced Jihyun to the camera as well. If it made it to court, the jury sympathized better if they saw the faces of the victims.

We went back to Mint Eye. Jihyun snuck in using whatever method he’d always used. I went through the same order as before. A follower led me to a room, told me to wait. I did. I waited until the door opened for me. A new follower brought me inside, presented me before a throne. The room was ringed with hooded figures. Members of the cult, I assumed. The throne itself was empty. Someone began to incant a speech. I fought the urge to look around for Jihyun. I just had to hope he was there. The speech gave the usual lies you might expect from a cult. I pretended to believe, to be eager to join. Finally, they introduced the Savior, and the woman I recognized as Rika entered. She gave false promises of a better life, of healing me. And then she presented me with a liquid in a cup.

I hesitated. I didn’t want to drink it. “What’s in this?” I asked, trying to get more information for the tape.

Rika couldn’t give a straight answer and I still didn’t drink. She started to look suspicious. Did she recognize me and know who I was? She probably knew I looked into Kon’s death. They invited me to the cult to shut me up, to tie up that loose end.

I didn’t want to drink the elixir. It was a risk I wasn’t willing to take. But Rika pushed me. She knew I suspected something. Soon, she grabbed my hair, pulled my head backward. My mouth hung open as a reflex and she tried to pour the elixir in. I felt myself get shoved from behind, but it pushed me away from Rika. I scurried on my knees as far as I could get, though some followers quickly grabbed me.

Rika struggled with a hooded figure until his hood slipped off. Jihyun was trying to spill the elixir, to take it from her hands.

“You! V!” Rika screamed. She fought him, scratching his face. He looked at me and stopped fighting her.

“Rika. Please. Stop this. I am here now. Let her go and take me. It’s a trade. Please, Rika.”

“You’re poison! Poison to me, V! I’ll kill you!”

Jihyun stood there relatively calmly, considering his ex-girlfriend was threatening to kill him.

“Jihyun! Get out of here!” I urged, before a hand clamped over my mouth. I tried to bite and free myself but they held fast.

“Rika, take me instead. It’s what you want, right? Let her go.” He tried to convince Rika again.

She shot a look my way. “Is she your newest victim, V? Are you going to destroy her as you did me? Don’t believe his lies. He says he’ll love you, _all of you_ but he lies. He tries to kill the parts he doesn’t like. He’s a murderer! I try to help people!” She snapped back to Jihyun. “What, do you love her now? Is that it? Now that you’ve seen my darkness, you turn to someone else?”

“How I feel about her doesn’t matter,” he said and I felt a tightness in my chest. Rika suggested Jihyun loved me. Was it true? Is that why he stepped in to save me? He didn’t deny her words at all. “I am here now, Rika. Let her go and keep me.”

“You do love her. You make me sick,” she spat. I tried to fight my captor again but they held me fast.

“Just let her go, Rika. Please. All I ask is that you let her go. Let her be safe. That’s all I ask. And then you can do whatever you wish to me. I’ll accept the punishment you feel I deserve.”

Rika flew into a rage and before anyone could react, she revealed a dagger inside her cloak. She thrust it into Jihyun’s stomach. I screamed, despite the hand covering my mouth. Rika suddenly grew quiet, and she watched the blood stain Jihyun’s cloak. She commanded we both be brought to the dungeon.

We were unceremoniously thrown in a cell in the basement. Thankfully, in the same cell. I immediately tore my shirt, tried to bandage his wound. But I wasn’t a doctor. It looked bad. Jihyun lapsed in and out of consciousness. The camera somehow survived but I wondered if he would even live to see the evidence work against Rika.

We were left alone for a long time. Hours, at least. I did what little I could for Jihyun but I couldn’t wash his wound or help with the pain. At one point, he woke up and looked at me.

“Do you have the film?” he asked me, his voice weak.

“Jihyun…” I murmured. “We’re locked in a cell in the basement. But yes, the footage is fine. But you’re not. We need to get you to a hospital.”

“No… You leave. I have to stay. So Rika will leave you alone…” he tried to argue.

“You know she won’t. Not now. She’s convinced you’re in love with me. The only way we can be safe is if we escape and get this tape into the hands of the authority. But we can’t escape here.” We sat in silence a moment. I looked around the cell for what felt like the hundredth time, then looked back down at Jihyun. “Why didn’t you just tell her she was wrong? She might not have gotten so angry and stabbed you. You should have told her there’s nothing between us. There never has been.”

Jihyun looked at me, his face pale and sweating from the pain of his wound. “I don’t like lying. And I don’t like hiding things. But that’s all I’ve done lately. I’m sorry. I won’t hide anything anymore. I couldn’t argue with Rika. She knew the truth. I never told you. You have made it clear you now hate me and it is my own fault and I must accept the consequences for my actions.” He gasped, finding it hard to breathe. “I’m sick of hiding things anymore. And I won’t lie. I love you. I loved you when we were children, too. I never told you. But now… Please go ahead and hate me. I deserve it. I had no idea what Rika was doing to your brother. And I was too late to stop it. But when he died, that’s when I learned what she was doing. And I tried to stop her. But it was too late for she’d already taken Kon from you. I should have seen it sooner. It was my fault. You have every right to hate me.”

It was quite a speech for someone as weak as Jihyun. He struggled to get hsi words out. I didn’t interrupt, didn’t say anything. I let his words come and I listened. I believed him. His words settled over me. He loved me. The man partly responsible for my brother’s death. My best friend as a child. But I didn’t love him, and I couldn’t. Not after everything that happened. But it didn’t mean I didn’t ache when I heard his words. I felt pain to see him suffering. “I don’t hate you,” I said softly, smoothing some of his hair. It was as soft as I always imagined. “Not anymore. And we’ll get out of this, Jihyun. Don’t worry.”

But it looked like he fell asleep again. I hoped he’d wake up again and that I could make good on my promise to escape. Hours later, I heard footsteps again. Rika appeared outside the cell. I looked at her, standing bravely. She had the power here but she hadn’t broken my will.

“He needs a doctor,” she said, her voice sounding flat, especially in the echo of the cell.

I nodded. “He does. Very soon. He’s not doing well.”

“You’re…not like me, are you? Where do you hide your darkness?” she asked.

I probably looked confused. “I don’t know. I try not to hide much from anyone. If you mean my stubbornness, I just show it. Hiding just makes things worse, doesn’t it?”

“What happened to Kon?” she asked.

I cringed. Looked away. “He died. Poisoned by that elixir you force on everyone.”

“I see. Yes, he had a different reaction than most to the elixir. I didn’t mean for him to die.”

“Shut up. Don’t ever talk about him,” I said, my voice hard, my hands balling into fists again.

She didn’t say anything. Looked from Jihyun to me and back again. She stepped to the door and withdrew a key. Unlocked the door. “Take him to a doctor. Save his life. I won’t let his suffering end like this,” she said, turning and walking from us, ignoring any sound she heard.

I don’t know how I carried Jihyun out. I dragged him mostly. Unceremoniously. He was bruised far worse after I got him outside. Somehow I shoved him into his car and got us to a hospital. He was immediately rushed into surgery. They said he probably wouldn’t make it. I took the tape and sent it to the police. Rika probably knew we had something on her but she still let us go. Why? Did she still love Jihyun, despite everything? I didn’t want to think about it.

The surgery lasted a long time. I tried to help by getting Jihyun’s affairs in order as much as I could. But I couldn’t do much. I kept crying. Whenever I thought about Jihyun lying there, his eyes closed, his body growing colder, I couldn’t stop crying. I didn’t want him to die. I wasn’t ready for that.

I fell asleep in the hospital lobby. At 5 am, a nurse came and woke me up, said a doctor wanted to speak with me. This was it, then. They couldn’t save him. But the doctor instead led me to a room. Where Jihyun was sleeping. He was hooked up to every machine imaginable. The doctor said they closed the wound but Jihyun lost so much blood, he wouldn’t survive without a transfusion. I told the doctor to do it, assuming he just needed permission. But he asked what blood type I had and I understood. Give my blood to Jihyun. To maybe save his life. The man who’d led Kon to his death. Could I save him?

Yes.

I had to.

We didn’t have the same blood type but I could give him blood this one time without adverse effects. The hospital worked quickly. They hooked everything up and I tried not to watch my blood flow out of me. They put me in the same room as Jihyun but I fell asleep again, weakened after losing blood.

When I woke up, it was the afternoon. The sun made the room hot. I looked next to me and Jihyun was sitting up in bed. Alive.

“MC! You’re awake!” He immediately pressed a button to call a nurse.

“How do you feel?” I asked, too groggy to be too intelligent.

“It hurts. But I’ll live. The doctors told me you gave your blood and saved my life. I don’t know what to say. Or how to thank you. You are...amazing.”

I blushed but got angry at my own embarrassment. “I wasn’t going to let you die. I watched Kon die. I won’t be responsible for anyone else going through that.”

Jihyun looked as though he’d been stabbed again. Of course. I had implied that he let Kon die. He still had the neverending guilt. “I understand. Still, I am grateful. If you wish anything of me--”

I interrupted him, “Just heal, you idiot. Get better.” I looked away.

He paused. “I see.” I could hear that I had hurt him in his voice. “Then I will. And I’ll remember what you have done for me but you’ll never have to see me again. We finished and avenged Kon.”

“Right,” I said, half-heartedly. For some reason, I didn’t like hearing that this was the end. “You told me you loved me, you know.”

“I know. I remember the conversation. I meant it,” he said softly. I wanted to look at him but I kept my gaze on the window. “You turned in the tape, didn’t you?”

“Yeah, I did all that last night. You were in surgery a long time. Rika let us go. I think she’s still in love with you.”

“I suppose it’s possible but I doubt it’s really love. Maybe obsession? I believe that’s what I had towards her. Our relationship was cruel to both of us. But it will be strange to go on without her,” he said. So he didn’t love Rika, at least not anymore.

Silence fell over us. He didn’t say anything else. The nurse came and checked up on me and left again and we still didn’t speak.

Finally I broke the quiet of the room. “I changed my mind,” I said, trying to give my best casual glance at Jihyun.

“Hmm?” he asked. He’d been trying to sleep again. Still healing but mostly hiding the pain from me.

“I changed my mind,” I repeated. He opened his eyes and met my gaze. “I want you to get better from that wound. And everything Rika inflicted on you. Mental wounds, and your eyes, right? I saw the way she looked at your eyes. She did that. So heal those, too. Those are my requirements. After you get all that done…” I stopped talking, letting the pause stretch until Jihyun asked me to continue. I smiled. “After you do all that, I think it’ll be time.”

“Time for what?” he pressed.

“Well. Right now, my friend is hurt. He’s been through a lot. It’s going to take some time for my best friend, Jihyun to fully heal.” I saw the confusion in his eyes. “But once he does, I think he’ll be ready for love again. And maybe I’ll be able to help him with that, too,” I said softly, watching for his expression.

He looked like he didn’t believe me and I almost laughed. “But… MC…” he tried to object.

I sighed and cut him off. “You said you loved me. Maybe I was angry before but I’m not now. I’m worried about you and I want you to be happy. I’m your friend and I’m sorry for saying I hated you. I don’t, not now. So get better. Heal, like I asked. Get better so I can tell you I love you. But I won’t tell you until you’re all better.”

Jihyun’s smile started and I watched it slowly spread, stretch his cheeks, reach his eyes. The smile of one of my closest friends. The smile I’d known since childhood. The smile of the real Jihyun, the one I knew I loved. “I see. It’s a deal.”

**Author's Note:**

> originally posted on my tumblr: https://anon-drabble.tumblr.com  
> if you're able, i definitely recommend you visit the tumblr where i do reblog prompts and also post additional content like much shorter fluff pieces and headcanons.  
> i always accept requests ♥


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